Wherein Oomori Seiko comes closest to a traditional ballad, at least so far in her career. That’s slightly misleading, at least within the context of J-pop — this isn’t your typical gloopy cinematic ballad, the kind some artist make a whole boring career out of. But structurally, it is quite familiar form an artist who often bucks structure, opting for intimacy or bombast. “Shinigami” builds though, going slow to loud and drops a guitar solo in there too. Yet then comes that element that always pushes her music forward — her voice, as fierce and unpredictable as ever. The structure might be familiar, but she’s, as ever, zipping through. Listen above.
